Set in 1938 right before World War II, Battle Tendency stars Joseph Joestar, the rough-and-tumble but extremely clever grandson of Jonathan who lives in New York City. When word gets out that Jonathan's best friend and Joseph's adoptive great uncle, Robert E. O. Speedwagon, has been murdered, Joseph sets out to avenge him. However, after defeating Speedwagon's alleged murderer, he learns that Speedwagon is actually being held captive by the Waffen-SS in a research facility in Mexico, led by Commander Rudol von Stroheim. While rescuing Speedwagon, Joseph learns of Stroheim's latest discovery: a race of ancient, superhuman beings known as the Pillar Men, the original creators of the Aztec stone masks. After a heated fight with a Pillar Man in the research facility, Joseph heads to Italy in order to train for his fateful encounter with three more powerful Pillar Men with the help of Caesar Zeppeli (grandson of Jonathan's teacher William Zeppeli) and their mysterious mentor, Lisa Lisa.

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Battle Tendency was adapted into episodes 10-26 of the first season of the anime. The English dub of the anime aired in 2016 on Toonami.

Joseph wields weaponized clackers roughly 30 years before they became a thing.

When Speedwagon's plane gets hijacked, Joseph can be seen in the manga reading◊ a Superman comic. Given that he's 18 in Battle Tendency, 13 during this flashback and was born in 1920, this means that the flashback was from 1933. Action Comics #1, which introduced Superman, wouldn't be introduced until 1938.

Anti-Villain: Wamuu is this for the Pillar Men. He has a profound respect for both Joseph and Caesar and in the final battle is more concerned with getting a good fight out of Joseph then getting a victory for Kars.

Anyone Can Die: Much like Phantom Blood, Araki doesn't hold back with the bloodshed. Once again, numerous background and minor characters are killed off; Caesar, Esidisi, Wamuu, several soldiers and in the epilogue we find out that Stroheim, Speedwagon, and Erina died a few years after Joseph's battle with Kars. For a while there it looked like Joseph would be killed off too, just like Jonathan, but this was a red herring.

Artistic License  History: In the manga, Joseph is reading a Superman comic during a flashback that takes place a few years before the story's main action in 1938, which was the year of Superman's debut.

Asshole Victim: The Nazis slaughtered by Santana, who just prior to releasing him had murdered several civilians so they could use their blood to release and destroy him. There's also a couple of drunkards who almost run over a dog, prompting Kars to slice the car and its occupants in half to save it.

Attending Your Own Funeral: It's been a month since Joseph Joestar's final clash against Kars on an erupting volcano and no one's heard from them since, so their friends decide to make a funeral for them. However, it turns out Joseph's alive and Suzie Q forgot to send the letters saying he was fine, which only comes to light when they show up at said funeral.

Attractive Bent-Gender: Hilariously parodied when the big, muscular Joseph tries to sneak into a Nazi lab by dressing as a woman.

Decoy Protagonist: Jonathan Joester, the protagonist of the previous part. Joseph Joestar is the first to inherit the nickname JoJo and begins the trend of future protagonists (Descended from Jonathan and Joseph) doing the same.

From the perspective of an anime viewer, Joseph is Jonathan's replacement following his untimely death in Season 1 Episode 9. Watching the anime will play this trope more straight.

Denser and Wackier: This part marks the point where the series starts to become a bit more self-aware and run with the silliness it provides, from the fairly weird and inventive ways Joseph and Caesar both use their Hamon, to the fact that one of Joseph's allies is eventually a Cyborg Nazi. One of the villains is a crybaby, and is part of a trio that strike a lot more poses than either Dio or Jonathan in Phantom Blood... culminating in the main villain becoming a Glam Metal screaming bird vampire who constantly licks his lips.

Design Student's Orgasm: The Bloody Stream opening is chock-full of this. The anime and the manga also qualify, what with the love of abstract backgrounds, and the creative approach to coloring and costume design.

Dirty Cop: Joseph's Establishing Character Moment has him rescue a street thief from a duo of corrupt officers who unjustly beat up Smokey for stealing a wallet, then attempt to keep the wallet to themselves "as proof".

Disguised in Drag: Parodied. The enormous, ridiculously muscular Joseph tries to sneak into a Nazi lab by dressing as a woman. It doesn't work.

Earn Your Happy Ending: Joseph goes through Training from Hell after which he loses Loggs to Mentor Occupational Hazard, has to live with Survivor Guilt when Caesar dies heroically in battle, narrowly wins a gruelling duel with Wamuu, and has his hand cut off during his final battle with Kars before crash landing in the middle of the ocean. But the Pillar Men are defeated, the epilogue reveals that Joseph and his surviving allies lived long and happy lives (barring Stroheim, who met his end during the Battle of Stalingrad), and the world is, for now, safe.

Eat the Bomb: Esidisi eats a lit dynamite stick whose explosion causes him as much damage as a burp.

Elemental Powers: The main trio of Pillar Men have techniques that invoke an element, called Modes. Unlike regular elemental powers, their techniques are simply the manipulation of their powerful bodies. Only Santana is shown to not have any Mode.

Wamuu's Wind Mode can create Razor Wind by making a quick slicing motion. He possesses tube like organs that suck up the air and blow it out of the body at high speed, enabling manipulation of gusts of wind. His strongest technique, Holy Sandstorm, is about twisting his arms fast enough to create a vortex.

Esidisi's Heat Mode can heat up his body temperature up to hundreds of degrees Celsius, so his blood can set wood on fire and burn right through flesh.

Kars possesses Light Mode, where he sprouts chainsaw-like blades from his arms and legs. The reflection of the light on the moving blades make them glow.

FaceHeel Turn: Straizo kicks off the plot of part 2 by embracing vampirism and seemingly killing Speedwagon out of jealousy over Dio's immortality and eternal youth.

Family Honor: Caesar first subverted this by renouncing his family pride when his father Mario left him and his siblings. Later when Mario unknowingly saved Caesar from the Pillar Men, he made a complete U-turn and began to take great pride in his lineage.

Fatal Family Photo: Happens to a German soldier named Mark. His locket with his fiancée's photo in it even falls significantly to the floor as he dies.

Fate Worse than Death: What can be worse than dying? How about being launched into space after becoming immortal and unable to die while drifting in the endless always-expanding frontier, and desiring death so much to escape the misery that instead ceasing thinking altogether. Isn't that right, Kars?

Fist Pump: Joseph lifts a victorious fist toward Kars as a volcano eruption is propelling the latter into space.

Flaw Exploitation: Joseph Joestar is a master of this. He exploits Straizo's intelligence to repeatedly trick him, Wamuu's Blood Knight tendencies to convince him to spare Joseph on the grounds that he would make a great adversary given time to train, and uses Kars' obsession with the Red Stone of Aja to protect himself.

Free-Fall Fight: In Switzerland, Joseph and Kars are chasing after the Red Stone of Aja which is sliding toward a cliff. Both jump and a struggle ensues between the two as they fall down the cliff. Joseph thankfully manages to grab the Stone and stop his fall.

Genocide from the Inside: Kars did this when his race refused to join in attempting to become ultimate lifeforms. Only three survivors were left; his loyal follower and two infants he raised to be his servants.

Guile Hero: Joseph is one par excellence, and by far the best example among the JoJos. He is so good at reading and predicting his enemies' moves that he can predict what they're going to say.

Kars is retroactively this to Part I, being the one who created the Stone Mask that allowed Dio to become a vampire and hailing from a race where the purpose of the Stone Mask was to create vampires, which his kind eat. This also means he's the Greater-Scope Villain to parts 3-6, where DIO is a major factor in several characters' motivations.

Though he's overshadowed by the Pillar Men, Dio Brando still haunts the Joestars despite being trapped at the bottom of ocean for the entirety of Part 2. Not only is the power he displayed in Phantom Blood part of what motivates Straizo's FaceHeel Turn, but one of his henchmen is responsible for Joseph losing both of his parents due to murdering George Joestar II and then being killed by Lisa Lisa and forcing her to go into hiding since he was a US Army General.

Lisa Lisa was once this with George Joestar II, until George was killed by one of Dio's zombies.

Joseph and Suzie Q get married at the end of this part.

HeelFace Turn: S.S. Commander Rudol von Stroheim and his entire platoon of German soldiers pulls one once Joseph squares off with Santana, as Joseph and the Nazis both share the common enemy of the Pillar Men.

Heroic BSoD: Joseph briefly enters this, calmly accepting his death, after having his left hand cut off by Kars and suffering a brutal Hamon-boosted Knee Capping. It's only when his body instinctively pulled out the Red Stone of Aja he took with him at the last second, deflecting the Hamon and regains the will to defeat Kars.

Heroic Sacrifice: When the Nazis tell a bunch of captured civilians that they need to kill one of them, and tell them that if they can choose someone to be killed then they'll let everyone else go, a young boy volunteers to die to save his fellow prisoners. Unfortunately for him (and everyone else), this was a Social DarwinistSecret Test of Character to pick the one exceptional enough to deserve to live, and everyone except him is killed instead.

Human Subspecies: The Pillar Men. They were a tribe of pre-history Mesoamerican Horned Humanoids who were physically harmed by sunlight, but had long lifespans and advanced technology; as such, they were worshiped as gods by early humanity. The four Pillar Men in the present only survived by using the Stone Mask, which gave them immortality and Body Horror-tastic body-manipulation powers. Kars, the leader of the four and the creator of the Stone Mask, wiped out the rest of the tribe when they tried to kill him.

Hyper-Awareness: Joseph is uncannily sharp about noticing things right away about his enemies.

Immortality Seeker: Straizo became more aware of his mortality the older he got, which made him try to find the source of DIO's powers.

Immunity Disability: Kars ends up gaining immortality and an auto-evolution ability after combining the Stone Mask and Red Stone of Aja. Joseph uses this ability against him by throwing him into an active volcano where he hardens in defense as it's about to erupt. He gets launched into space and is stuck floating around forever; eventually his mind shuts down completely.

Indy Ploy: Pretty much everything Joseph does is one, thanks to his quick thinking and ability to read his opponents. He even defeats Kars this way!

Interim Villain: With Dio being saved for Stardust Crusaders, Kars takes the spotlight as the Big Bad in this part as the creator of the Stone Mask.

Just as Planned: At the end of the final fight, Joseph creates a volcanic eruption which propels Kars into outer space due to sheer luck and instinct. That didn't stop Joseph from saying he planned it all along, just to tick Kars off.

Killer Rabbit: After Kars achieves his goal of godhood, the first thing he does is turn his hand into a squirrel, much to the confusion of everyone present. Said squirrel plows a hole through Stronheim's stomach and rips off another soldier's face.

Late-Arrival Spoiler: Right from the get-go, readers for this part are told that Jonathan died during his honeymoon and Dio used the Stone Mask to turn into a vampire.

Last Episode Theme Reprise: "Sono Chi No Sadame," the theme music from Phantom Blood, kicks in at the end of the final battle when Joseph uses the Red Stone of Aja to blast Ultimate Kars into space.

Life Will Kill You: Erina is revealed to have died of old age a few years after Joseph defeated the Pillar Men in the epilogue. Also implied to have happened to Tonpetty between parts.

Luke, I Am Your Father: Lisa Lisa is Joseph's long-lost mother, who went into hiding after she killed her husband's murderer, who was his commanding officer and one of Dio's zombies.

Mayincatec: The Pillar Men have this vibe to them, as they originate from South America and wear tribal costumes.

Missing Reflection: Exploited by Joseph Joestar in his fight against the vampire Straizo, who thinks he managed to score a fatal hit with his Eye Beams, only to realize that Joseph was behind him the whole time and he actually attacked his reflection in the mirror.

Mook: The only reason why Wired Beck exists is to show how skilled Lisa Lisa is at using Hamon.

Multinational Team: The main cast is composed of a British man (Joseph), an Italian (Caesar), a British-Italian-Tibetan Monk (Lisa Lisa} and a German Nazi (Stroheim).

Musical Theme Naming: Once again continued with many characters having names that are music references. Like Phantom Blood many of the references are to rock bands who were prominent in the 70's and early 80's but a few pop music references were thrown into the mix to change things up.

My Blood Runs Hot: Esidisi, a Pillar Man, has a special Mode that allows him to boil his Blood up to 500 degrees and inject said blood into anything.

Not Quite Dead : Esidisi fakes being killed by Joseph to infiltrate Air Supplena Island undisturbed and manages to snatch the Red Stone of Aja from the Hamon users.

An Odd Place to Sleep: Pillar Men sleep in stone pillars, fusing with the rock to protect themselves from sunlight.

Olive Garden: The middle of the story takes place in Rome and Venice. The former is where the three Pillar Men hibernate and awaken, while the latter is where Joseph and Caesar undergo their Hamon training under Lisa Lisa. Caesar, however, is revealed to be from Naples.

Our Vampires Are Different: While they're never actually called vampires, the Pillar Men display a lot of the same abilities as vampires in Jojo, such as regeneration, life draining, and body manipulation. However, Pillar Men can take those abilities further, altering their bodies as will and devouring people by absorbing them with a single touch. Justified, since the Piller Men created vampires in the first place. It is implied that Kars' Stone Masks actually awakened these abilities in him and his allies, as he and Esidisi used their abilities to kill off the rest of their tribe.

Poison-and-Cure Gambit: When Joseph promises that he would make a great opponent if he was given time to train, resident Blood Knight Wamuu cannot resist the temptation after millennia of being unchallenged. He isn't completely fooled and administers poison to Joseph, while keeping the only antidote in his lip ring so Joseph has to seek him out.

The Power of the Sun: Hamon is still in use by the protagonists. This would be the last part it would be the focus of the main characters, before it was largely replaced with Stands.

Prelude to War: Battle Tendency happens in 1937 as Nazi Germany militarizes itself. However, the Nazis are not the bad guys this time.

While Joseph Joestar does defeat the Big Bad, he loses his arm and it is replaced with a prosthetic. This remains all throughout Stardust Crusaders and Diamond is Unbreakable.

Roller Coaster Mine: Joseph makes good use of one in Part 2 in an attempt to escape from the Pillar Men.

Say My Name: Joseph famously shouts Caesar Zeppeli's name after finding out about his death.

Sequel Hook: The final scene of this part is Joseph at John F. Kennedy Airport preparing to leave for Japan talking about his grandson who lives over there. The next part follows up on this with Joseph in Japan visiting his grandson in jail... who is the protagonist of the next part.

Sexy Mentor: Lisa Lisa, who teaches Joseph the use of Hamon, and also a Ms. Fanservice for Joseph. The fact that she is Joseph's mother makes it rather squicky.

She-Fu: Lisa Lisa's fighting style is incredibly gracious, involving somersaulting over her enemies with the help of her scarf, which can harden and serve as a pole and rope.

Sherlock Scan: Joseph does this to his enemies, along with predicting exactly what his foe is going to say next, catching them completely off guard.

The Stinger: In the anime. After the credits for Phantom Blood, the expedition that leads to Santana's rise can be seen. After the credits for Battle Tendency, Dio's coffin is shown being raised in 1983 and Jotaro Kujo is sitting in his jail cell, setting up the beginning of Stardust Crusaders.

Stupid Jet Pack Hitler: The Nazis can create cyborgs, but their technology is still inferior to the Pillar Men's prowess.

Stripperiffic: All four of the Pillar Men are dressed in little more than a thong with some Aztec-looking accessories, though this is primarily meant to show how ancient they are. Joseph himself, while not nearly as much as the Pillar Men, is also prone to wearing revealing clothing, and his most iconic outfit has him wearing a midriff-baring crop top that also shows his muscled arms. One piece of artwork for the anime adaptation has him wear ripped jeans belonging to Jolyne.

Suddenly SHOUTING!: While AC/DC taunts Joseph during their duel, down to stealing his catchphrase, he taunts a shocked Joseph by asking if he, perhaps, stunned him with his accurate deconstruction of his plan, or perhaps he hit the bullsEYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEE????

Suicide by Sunlight: Straizo, transformed into a vampire but defeated by Joseph, kills himself by using the last of his remaining Hamon.

Supernaturally Young Parent: Lisa Lisa, who looks no older than 30, even though she's about 50. She is a Hamon master, which has the side effect of making you age slower.

Surveillance as the Plot Demands: The Nazis are apparently aware of everything that goes on with Joseph through their spy network. However, this also happens to be to the benefit of the protagonists, as they are able to stop the Red Stone of Aja from being delivered to Kars when Suzi Q, possessed by Esidisi's disembodied brain, sends it to him.

Scheherezade Gambit: An injured Joseph promises that he would make a great opponent for resident Blood Knight Wamuu if the latter spared him and gave him a month to train, since Joseph already injured him without training. It only works since Wamuu decides to play along and double down with a Poison-and-Cure Gambit, making the fight obligatory.

Symbolic Blood: When Joseph takes a bad hit during his fight with Esidisi, Lisa Lisa's glass of red wine cracks and leaks all over her tablecloth on another part of the island.

Theme Music Power-Up: In the climax of the final battle between Joseph and Kars. Notable in that the theme music in question is "Sono Chi no Sadame" - the theme music from the Phantom Blood arc.

Theme Tune Cameo: "Sono Chi no Sadame" plays during the climax of the anime adaption.

Those Wacky Nazis: After hearing about Straizo's vampirism and the Pillar Men, they become minor antagonists as they wish to use them to enhance their armies. In an ironic twist, they later become allies to Joseph and his friends, as they do not wish for the Pillar Men to destroy all of humanity either.

Training from Hell: Lisa Lisa's Hamon training begins with throwing her students in a pit with a large central tower that constantly gushes oil (more like vegetable oil than crude oil), meaning they have to master their Hamon in order to climb out or else die of starvation. On top of that, since Joseph never learned Hamon breathing, Lisa Lisa fits him with a special mask that forces him to breathe properly or else suffocate. In the end it takes him four days to climb out of the pit.

Turn Out Like His Father: After George is killed and Lisa Lisa is sent on the run for taking down his killer, Erina decides that it would be best to tell Joseph that both of his parents are dead, lest he follows in their footsteps.

Ultimate Life Form: The Pillar men. Their end goal is to become this but they're pretty damn close!

Kars succeeds in becoming this at the end.

Wham Shot: As the now old Joseph takes the flight to Tokyo to meet his daughter and grandson, the story immediately goes 4 years back to 1983, where Dio's coffin from Part 1 has surfaced again and is open.

Writing Around Trademarks: In the manga, a flashback shows Joseph reading a Superman comic. In the anime, presumably due to some licensing issues, he's instead reading Baoh, one of Araki's pre-Jojo's Bizarre Adventure works.

Wrongly Accused: Well, technically Lisa Lisadid kill that high-ranking British officer she's accused of murdering - it's just that she was the only one who knew he was secretly a bloodsucking undead monster.

Years Too Early: While preparing a coup de grace against Kars, Joseph tells him that he may be thousands of years old, but he's still 10 years too early to beat Joseph's wits.

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GAAAHH!!! OH NO! Unbelievable! What the hell was that woman thinking!? Wait!!

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